Can confirm: game is good.

Seems to get a lot of hate from people who wanted something more like the original Darkest Dungeon, but it's its own thing and still has a very similar vibe. I love both games for different reasons, but this one is definitely worth the time of those who enjoyed the first. Can't wait to see what else gets added, and what Red Hook does next.

it's like darkest dungeon 1 if it was just a little worse in every aspect. surprisingly buggy and punishes *good* decisions. worse roster and losing one unit almost always ends your run. not too fond of extremely long and grindy metaprogression timegating content. playing on controller is suuuuper janky too

BUT! i do commend the devs for making something unique and not just DD1 again, i'm sure other people will have the exact opposite take

Can't count how many times I've died to that stupid overpowered boss in the burning library. I get the game is supposed to be unfair but this is ridiculous.

I love naming all my little fellas after close friends so that inevitably when they get game ended I go through 8 stages of grief trying to avenge them!

one day only available achievement is crazy

This review is based on the original game mode that this game launched with, Confessions. There are 5 confessions and it took me 60 hours and over 30 or so runs to complete this game. It is fantastic and overall a great experience and with the free new game mode Kingdoms it has even more content to offer. I highly recommend this game if you have time to sink into it and it is a really great tactical turn-based game with roguelike elements.

I'll start with the cons of this game however:
-This game does not respect your time. Each runs, except the first confession Denial, can last upward to three hours. It takes time to get to the final region and fight the confession boss. Your choice of team at the beginning is crucial to your success. Anything can go wrong and ruin your whole run when you spent hours into it. It is especially frustrating when you fight the final boss only to die because you went in blind. YOU WILL DIE if you fight the final bosses (or any of the bosses in this game) if you go in blind and don't know their very specific mechanic. I recommend, if you respect your own time, to look up the bosses to know how to prepare a little and not get curbstombed.
-The meta progression of this roguelike is grindy, which further compounds the problem that this game does not respect your time. Their are items that you unlock that are literally crucial to the winning the game and you know how you get them? Through gambling your meta currency and HOPE you get the good items.
-Some of the enemies in this game are just absolute ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ to fight against and can and WILL ruin your runs if you don't kill them on sight.
-My favorite character from DD1, the Crusader, is locked behind a 15$CAD DLC on top of a 50$CAD game. Not only that, but you need to complete a whole entire quest to get him at his base level and then you have to upgrade him a Shrines to unlock his skills. This con can be circumvented with a Workshop mod however, which is what I did.
-My second favorite character, the Bounty Hunter, is locked behind a mechanic that although makes sense lore wise, it absolutely sucks gameplay-wise. First, its random if you get to recruit him at Inns. Second, you need to replace one of your heroes from your carefully crafted roster and lastly he only stays for a single region. This can be circumvented with a Workshop mod which is what I did.

Now the pros of the game:
-The combat is amazing. The token system is excellent and makes combat less RNG-dependant and more about skill, strategy and planning. This is even more nutty if you combine it with the initiative order in which your characters (and the enemies) play, to make incredible combos. All in all, this game's combat system is better than its predecessor Darkest Dungeon 1.
-The graphics of this game is a delight. It retains the dark inky tone of the first game but brings it forth into the 3rd dimension, making everything more alive and more grounded. It is simply perfect.
-The animations. GOD the animations in this game are to DIE for. They kept the impact frame of the first game and then added sweet looking animations before and after it (EVEN WHEN SELECTING SKILLS) and it just looks so good and every hits feel so impactful
-The vast amount of items (once unlocked) gives you so much room in terms of planning and preperation to go into the next region. My favorite moments in this game are the moments at the Inn where the heroes are resting, I'm doing shopping, giving them alcohol to bond better, give them erotic books to reduce their stress and then using a bunch of food and goods to boost my heroes for the challenges to come. A lot of runs can make it or break it at the Inn and the preparations you made.
-The relationship system is intriguing, but it can be a pain in the ass if you don't manage it correctly and can be outright run ending. It really is a swing from one extreme or the other. Everyone hate each other, then your run will go terribly and everyone dies. Everyone loves each other, you suddenly get a massive buff for combats and sometimes don't even need to worry about stress anymore. Just be careful as relationships and affinity can snowball very easily.

My conclusion, this game is amazing. It is a great sequel to the first game and although they took a whole different direction with this game, I feel like they got a lot out of it and so do we. My wishes for the future is that Darkest Dungeon 3 will be like the first game in terms of gameplay loop but with the graphics and combat system of the second game. This game has its problems, just like the first game, but with some grit and resoluteness you can get through the pain and beat the deep recess of the Darkest Dungeon.

very different from DD1, but also an extension of it. combat is so much more fun and complex, somewhat thanks to the new combo mechanic which is a vast improvement of marking for death from the first game.

each hero now has 11 skills and 3 paths, which adds so much more depth to the game. specifically some heroes (jester, vestal, etc.) have been wildly changed from the first game to give them a more well rounded skill set akin to other heroes.

the new 3D style, though it takes some time to get used to, is awesome. it specifically retains the jagged lines and shadows of the old style, but allows for much more fine detail in the textures and range of motion in the animation.

kingdoms is a great new addition that plays like a mixture between DD1 and DD2, but also still holds its own unique identity. red hook more like red cooked because they cooked with this expansion.

11/10

Recently, a lot of sequel games are failing :Cities Skylines , Civilisation 7 , Company of Heroes 3 ...
I’ve just vent all my frustration about Frostpunk 2 and came here ,I don't know why this is happening ,I wonder if GTA 6 will be the next victim of this new trend.

But this game did not fail. I have more than 300 hours in both Darkest Dungeon 1 and 2 .
I absolutely love both games!
And yes , like many of you, I didn't like it at first and ignored it for a while, but after giving it another shot, I found it super addictive.

its not flawless ; most trinkets are junk and need some rework , travelling with skate coach is not fun need some rework, this game still needs couple of major updates .
it plays like an early access game in its late stage

but even at this stage i would give this game a solid 8.5

Man, I gave it a fair shake and even waited until the "new mode" was here. This just sucks, it's not fun. It's all the look and feel of DD1 with none of the heart.